Umar Johnson Disinvited From Anne Arundel Community College

by Jamal Eric Watson

Dr. Umar Johnson, a controversial Black activist and speaker, has been disinvited from speaking at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland after a group of students complained that he espouses anti-gay rhetoric.

Boston College Under Investigation Over Access for Disabled

by Associated Press

Boston College has become more difficult to navigate for people with disabilities in recent years, according to former and current students whose complaints have prompted an investigation into whether the school is violating accessibility laws.

Diverse Docket: Morehead State Unanimous Winner on Appeal

by Eric Freedman

Morehead State University didn’t violate First Amendment rights or commit disability discrimination when it denied tenure to an assistant professor of art history, a unanimous federal appeals panel has ruled.

Study Links Discrimination, Blacks’ Risk of Mental Disorders

by Catherine Morris

New research shows that African Americans and Caribbean Blacks who experience multiple types of discrimination are at a much greater risk for a variety of mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

AAC&U Panel on Recruitment and Retention of Faculty of Color

by Catherine Morris

Even for those colleges and universities that value diversity to the extent that they have a dedicated officer or dean of diversity, problems of inclusion and support for faculty and students of color may still be an institutional challenge.

Putting ABC’s ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ in Context with Black History Month

Diverse Docket: Instructor’s Suit Against Delgado Community College Can Move Forward

by Eric Freedman

A Korean American chemistry instructor can pursue allegations that Delgado Community College denied her a promotion and then terminated her because of racial and national origin discrimination, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Initiative in California Clearing Path to Law School for Underrepresented

Bensimon’s Journey Leads to Advocacy for Equity

by Christina Sturdivant

At the 10th Annual American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education’s National Conference in March, Dr. Estela Bensimon will receive the Outstanding Latino/a Faculty in Higher Education: Research/Teaching (Research Institutions) award.

NCAA to Honor Former Paralympic Winner With Inspiration Award

More Women, Minorities in New Congress

by Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The 114th Congress that convenes today will count more minorities and women than ever, although lawmakers remain overwhelmingly White and male in the Republican-controlled House and Senate.

Affirmative Action Bans Hurt Male Student Enrollment

According to a new study, released by the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), college admission rates of Asian American students at select public universities have thrived in the absence of affirmative action, whereas the admission rates of Black, Hispanic and White students have declined.

In a review of enrollment statistics from three states where affirmative action bans are in effect — California, Florida and Texas — the report also revealed that across all races, the male population drops in schools with blind admissions processes. Researchers examined admissions at five select institutions — the University of California, Berkeley; UCLA, the University of California, San Diego; the University of Florida; and the University of Texas at Austin.

The results of affirmative action bans such as Proposition 209 in California, which prohibits university admission offices from considering race, sex or ethnicity in its decisions, varied from state to state. However, general trends emerged to confirm that Asian American students are disadvantaged in a race-conscious admission system, according to the study which was published in InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies.

At UC, Berkeley, Asian American enrollment jumped from 37 percent in 1995 to 43 percent in 2000. In Texas, the number of Asian American college students rose from 14 percent in 1995 to 17 percent in 2000. While modest, Florida also experienced gains. The Asian American student population in the University of Florida system grew from 7.5 percent to 7.8 percent.

California was hit hardest in its loss of Black and Hispanic students and did the least legislatively to retain diversity. Texas and Florida were able to suppress such steep population shifts by implementing programs to ensure public university admission to high-achieving high school students.

Texas, which lost a court challenge to its affirmative action policy in 1996, adopted a law in 1997 that guaranteed acceptance at all state-funded universities to students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class.

Similarly, Florida instituted the Talented 20 Program that offers automatic admission to the top 20 percent of public high school graduates, regardless of standardized test scores. Students, however, were not necessarily admitted to the school of their choice.

The number of Black students admitted to UC, Berkeley, dropped from 562 in the fall of 1997 to 191 in the fall of 1998. Hispanic admission numbers plunged as well, from 1,266 to 600. Since 1997, the percentage of Black and Hispanic students admitted to the university has dropped 6.5 percent, while the percentage of Asian Americans admitted jumped 6.2 percent.

The enrollment of Black men suffered the most under California’s ban. At UC, San Diego, for instance, the freshman class of 2005 had just 19 Black men, up from 12 in 2000.

To address the lack of diversity in UC schools, UC system officials in 2002 designed an admission policy known as comprehensive review in order “to improve the quality and fairness” of the UC admission process by mandating that campuses consider a full range of students’ accomplishments, experiences and circumstances, while prohibiting the consideration of race.

But according to a report released by researchers at UCLA’s Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, titled “Gaming the System,” UC campuses still rely too heavily on traditional indicators of merit, such as a student’s grade point average and SAT score in the admissions process, diminishing the postsecondary opportunities for large numbers of underrepresented minorities.

Researchers in this new study, noting the negative effect affirmative action bans have had on Whites, wrote “This action not only reduced the diversity of their [Whites] educational experience, but it also affected its quality by limiting the expression of different viewpoints in and out of the classroom. As one of the authors of this essay remarked on many occasions, ‘affirmative action is not just for ‘them,’ it is for all of us.’”

RESPONSIBILITIES: Serving as the chief academic officer, the Provost provides dynamic academic and strategic leadership for the university, with broad vision, a perpetual fresh perspective, and balanced judgment and creativity.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The University seeks an exceptional individual who will provide visionary leadership to the advancement division and oversee all aspects of development, the foundation and alumni relations.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Reporting to the Provost & Senior Vice President, this position is responsible for the development and implementation of a comprehensive enrollment strategy to achieve BGSU’s undergraduate and graduate student enrollment targets, including traditional, transfer, international, and online.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration (SVP) is a key member of the President’s Operating Team, will serve as senior financial and operational strategist for the College.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Tracking data from the 13 Mountain West CTR-IN consortium universities, data analysis, preparation of reports and presentations for CTR-IN leadership and NIH, and coordination of the national CTR Tracking and Evaluation Network for all 5 NIH funded centers.

Historically Black college and university leaders are seeking the means to move their institutions from a model of tuition-dependency to opening alternative revenue streams that will ensure their institutions’ financial future.